Match Preview: Chattanooga Red Wolves SC vs. AV Alta FC
Tough assignment for visitors
Match: Chattanooga Red Wolves SC v AV Alta FC
Date: Saturday, August 30th, 2025. 19:00 (Eastern)
Venue: CHI Memorial Stadium, East Ridge, TN. Capacity: 2,500
How to watch: ESPN+
Tickets: Red Wolves Website
Sixth place AV Alta FC comes east to take on the Chattanooga Red Wolves at CHI Memorial Stadium tonight at 7pm (Eastern). Winless in their last five games, Alta faces a difficult challenge to squeeze points out of a relentless 1st place Chattanooga.
The Red Wolves (W11 D7 L2 in the league) continue to set the standard in this league. They’ve won their last two games and have not lost a match in the league since June 21st. Sitting at the top of the table, they’re two points ahead of Spokane Velocity. The latter has a game-in-hand, however, meaning that Chattanooga needs to win to continue their stay at the summit. At home they’ve won seven and drawn three (lost none), scoring 17 and conceding only six goals in ten.
Antelope Valley (W7 D8 L6 in the league) have drawn three and lost two of their last five games. They enjoyed a strong May and June that helped propel them into playoff contention. Recent patchy form, though, sees them sitting just five points off a clustered 8th place and they’ll need to pick up points again to avoid being sucked into a mid-table battle for post-season soccer. Away from home they have a poor record. They’ve picked up points in less than a third of their ten road games, earning a goal difference of -5.
The game will be officiated by Mario Maric and kicks off at 7pm live on ESPN+.
The history
Given this is Alta’s first ever season, today's match will be just the second time these sides have met. Back in April, they engaged in an entertaining battle in California, with Alta winning 3-2. A Matt Bentley penalty had put Chattanooga ahead before a fine brace from former Red Wolves attacker Jimmie Villalobos swung the pendulum in Alta’s favor. Bentley then replied with a stunning volley to level things up, and a draw seemed likely. Finally, on 85 minutes, Tobi Jnohope took down Alta’s Jerry Desdunes in the box, allowing for substitute Joaquin Acuna to slot home the resulting penalty and win it for the home side.
Report cards and lineups
Chattanooga
Last weekend, the Red Wolves put South Georgia Tormenta to the sword. A 40th minute penalty was slotted home by winger Pedro Hernández to send Chattanooga ahead. Hernández now has a club-leading seven league goals on the season, from nineteen appearances. Tobi Jnohope then provided the insurance goal in the 75th minute with a dramatic diving header mere moments after coming on. Red Wolves’ goalkeeper Jason Smith did not allow a shot on goal in the first half. He now has a league-leading eight clean sheets.
With the win, the Red Wolves continued their unbeaten streak having not lost in the last 10 fixtures. In that time, they’ve won eight matches and tied two.
I expect Head Coach Scott Mackenzie to opt for a variation of his usual 5-4-1 setup, incorporating three center backs, two fullbacks and a pair of defensive midfielders. Last week against Tormenta, Chattanooga had an unusually high 45% possession. Typically, they’ve enjoyed winning games with less than 35% time on the ball and a fraction of their opposition’s chances. Again, against Tormenta, this was turned on its head as they outfired their visitors. So, it will be interesting to see how they approach today’s game against an Alta side who sit on a league-high 60.8% possession per game.
Chattanooga hasn’t conceded a goal in its last two games. Their water-tight backline is marshalled by Declan Watters. The Irishman boasts the third-most clearances in the league (137) and leads his own team in games (20), starts (20), and minutes played (1,785). Of those 20 league games started, he’s only been subbed off once. He recently spoke to the Southeast Soccer Report about the season so far. You can read his interview here. He is out player to watch for Chattanooga tonight.
Antelope Valley
Alta comes into tonight’s game off a tough 2-0 loss on the road in Nebraska last weekend. Against Omaha they were utterly outgunned in shots (6 to Omaha’s 22), shots on target (5-7), and big chances (1-3). Again, they enjoyed the lion’s share of possession 61% to 39% but couldn’t convert it into goals. Against a Red Wolves team that likes to let their opponents play with the ball, Alta can expect similar possession tonight.
Alta’s main goal threat is American forward Eduardo Blancas. The 23-year-old has seven league goals on the season, the same as Chattanooga’s Pedro Hernández. He is our player-to-watch for Antelope Valley. Sebastian Cruz has assisted int he creation of five goals.
Expect some metal from Alta tonight and some cards to be shown. Maboumou Alassane and captain Miguel Pajaro share a league-leading nine yellow cards this year, while Blancas has eight.
Goalkeeper Carlos Avilez made 56 appearances for the Red Wolves in 2023 and 2023. Attacker Jimmie Villalobos is another former Chattanooga player who made 60 appearances and scored six goals for them in 2021 and 2022. Winger Jerry Desdunes may also be a familiar face to some in East Ridge. The 24-year-old developed in Georgia with nearby UPSL side Kalonji and USL League Two’s Peachtree City MOBA before turning professional in 2021.
There’s some international experience in this squad with El Salvador (Walmer Martinez, 23 caps, and Ronald Cerritos, 1 cap), Haiti (Ashkanov Apollon, 4 caps), Trinidad & Tobago (Denzil Smith, 19 caps), and the United States (Miguel Ibarra, 3 caps).
Analysis and Predictions
It’s the Chattanooga Red Wolves for me when it comes to predicting a winner tonight. I’ve no doubt that with their recent results, their home form, and Alta’s weak away record, not to mention their own high-flying confidence, they’ll carry the day. 2-0.
